The demand for literacy in sub-Saharan Africa -- as throughout most regions of the world -- is directly linked to the uses to which those skills can be put in everyday life. Although educators know a good deal about the dynamics of learning itself, many are typically much less familiar with the detail of literacy's actual usages in the labour market and across different sectors of developing economies. That nexus can best be illuminated by careful studies of what literacy programme completers and recent school leavers manage to do with the skills they have acquired, the environmental factors that limit or multiply such opportunities and their effect on literacy retention and lifelong learning. To date, follow-up studies of this kind have been little used in researching African literacy. The authors of this article review existing literature on the topic, consisting of five types of materials: (1) results of longitudinal research ("tracer studies"); (2) recent material on "literacy practices"; (3) reports from programmes designed to link literacy and livelihoods; (4) evidence from local "empowerment" initiatives; and (5) documents on local capacity building for political and economic decentralisation. Drawing on their analysis of this literature and the evidence presented there, the authors suggest ways of improving related research practice and enhancing the lessons it may have to teach us about the role of literacy in sustainable development.